When sliced meat products are stored, e.g., during transportation, on the store shelf prior to sale, or in the consumer's home, bacteria present in the product tend to multiply over time, eventually causing an unsafe condition for the consumer. In particular, certain bacterial and other pathogenic contaminations can be injurious or even deadly to humans. For example, various strains of E. coli. and Listeria bacteria have been known, when food-borne, to cause outbreaks of especially serious illnesses, especially in very young and very old consumers.
The predominant technique for controlling bacterial contamination in modern meat processing plants has been to disinfect the equipment that comes into contact with the food product, while maintaining high sanitation standards for production personnel, so as to minimize the transfer of bacteria. However, this technique does not necessarily eliminate bacteria already present on the food product, and does not treat contamination that may occur between equipment cleaning cycles.